Learning
by Anonymity is crucial
Summary: The first time, Tony shrugged it off. The fifth time, he was a bit more aware. It took him until the tenth and worst time to put it all together. From that point on, he was determined to help the kid who he thought of as his own. Autistic!Peter so if you don't like, don't read. I apologize for any inaccuracies in portrayal (I promise this summary is the bad part, not the story)


**J**

It wasn't overly noticeable until you really looked for it. The fidgeting, the awkwardness around people, the tics and twitches, just normal, though a bit strange, teenage behavior. The bouncing movements, never staying still, the constant blabbering on about nothing in particular, avoiding people for the most part. It was all noticeable, to those looking for it. If you weren't, well, that teen was just a strange kid, and that hero was just an annoying pest. To Tony though, he noticed, though it didn't click as soon as he'd like to say it did.

The first bit he noticed but brushed it off was when he first saw the wall crawler climbing and swinging around on a YouTube clip. He showed up, randomly talking to the two muggers he would end up webbing up. He was constantly moving and playing with his costume (which Tony found hideous and hideously not protective in the least), bouncing off walls, switching from one stream of conversation to another when he thought of something before rambling on and on. The muggers grew annoyed and one managed to grab ahold of the Spider-kid. What happened next was unexpected.

The chattering stopped and the kid jolted violently, sending a shot of webbing at the man before he could blink. The man and his friend both staggered at the change in demeanor as the now jittery, shaking kid quickly webbed them both to a wall before swinging away, right into the camera's view before vanishing from sight. Tony had watched the clip multiple times, trying to find the point where things went weird, and why it happened. The kid flipped when he was touched, and Tony figured it might have something to do with a possible abusive situation of some sort, and while he wasn't wrong (*cough* bullies *cough*), he shrugged the idea away when he began looking into the kid's life and sole guardian, deeming abuse was out of the question, not bothering looking into every aspect of Spidey's life.

The second time he noticed something was a bit off about the boy was when he first met him. He seemed flustered and came in, wearing earbuds, bouncing along and mumbling to the music, not noticing anything was off at first. Once Tony's presence was acknowledge, the kid fumbled his words and gestured widely, never stopping moving.

The kid brought Tony into his room and he jumped to shove his homemade (still hideous) suit away from Tony. He seemed jittery and as he wandered, he fiddled with things around his room. Tony took in the posters and random projects strewn around, seeing the clear science obsession as well as the fact the kid is a major nerd/geek. It didn't seem off for someone to have an obsession with something, it was a normal thing to love something. So it was brushed off.

The mask should have clued Tony in a bit too. Looking through the lenses, he couldn't see shit out of them, exclaiming as such, which caused the kid to look even more flustered and fidgety. To Tony, the kids constant moving seemed to be a part of a possible ADHD situation of some sort, but he, again, brushed it away while the kid explained how his senses were dialed to eleven and it helped him focus better, drowning out the excessive stimulation. Tony shrugged at the thought, mentally making a note to take said sensitive senses into consideration for the suit he was making the kid, but not thinking that any sort of sensory overload problem came before the spider bite, since that was how he interpreted what Peter said.

The fourth time wasn't overly noticeable in Tony's book, just mere understandings or ignorance of rules. The kid, even after being told not to follow up on Toomes and stay out of it, still went after the man. Tony may not have been completely clear with his instructions on staying out of it, and so he figured the constant disobeying of his instructions was purely miscommunication, not thinking anything else of it.

The fifth time was somewhat an extended viewing of the kid's life. When Tony first started looking at Peter Parker, he noted that the kid seemed to have one close friend. Frowning a bit, he shook his head and assured himself that Peter probably had more friends than just this Ned Leeds kid. A brilliant kid like him was bound to have at least some semblance of a friend circle at a school for brilliant kids, not just a friend dot.

As Tony got to know the kid, he became a little less sure of his extensive friend circle theory because of the blubbering awkwardness of this small kid that was so excited to participate in a superhero battle (though Tony repeatedly told him to only web them up unless unavoidable), but he stood by his hope that this kid at least had more than just Ned.

He was right, apparently, because he learned that Peter had two friends, not just one. Tony tried asking Peter one day who his friends were, thinking maybe he might want to invite some for a tour of the Tower, but stopped after two names. Tony tried coaxing more names from him, but Peter just shook his head and simply said, somewhat confused, that they were his only friends. Tony had to hold back his somewhat shocked and saddened look as he nodded, smiled, and told Peter to invite them for a tour of the place (he made note to find out how the kid lacked friends).

The sixth time was one of the less obvious bits Tony noticed. It was when he was taking the kid to a restaurant as a belated 'good job saving people' gesture for taking down Toomes. Tony was driving and the kid was seated in the passenger seat, staring out the window, watching everything pass by. He was rocking slightly side to side, in a slow and steady movement, muttering to himself slightly. Tony didn't think much of it, well, maybe a little bit when he tried catching the kid's attention at a stoplight to let him know they were almost there. He called the kid's name at least ten times before it seemed he actually heard him. Then Tony had to repeat himself a few times before Peter nodded in understanding before going back to staring out the window in contentment, rocking side to side in a gentle rhythm. Tony didn't mind the kid zoning out, and thought only a little bit on the rocking, but forgot about the incident upon arriving at the restaurant.

The seventh time, if at the time Tony was paying any attention, should have clued him in somewhat more, but he wasn't paying attention, so it didn't. It started with him inviting the kid into his personal lab, causing the Spider to gaze around in excitement, literally shaking and bouncing with happiness, letting out small squeaks of joy and flailing his arms around. Tony chuckled at the kid's expression of emotion, but should have refrained from commenting on the flailing and happy warbles, which caused the kid's hands to drop to fiddle with the hem of his shirt, cheeks turning a bright red in embarrassment.

The eighth time he would not stop talking. Tony had been sitting at his chair, working on one of the boots to his suit, while he let Peter tinker with an older model gauntlet of his that stopped working. He heard it power on and gazed up at the kid with an impressed expression, which caused the kid to beam.

Later, Tony was treated to what he believed to be a year long, one-sided conversation with Peter blabbering on about science, walking in circles on the ceiling before trailing down one wall, walking across the floor to the other wall, and walking back to the ceiling before repeating it all over again. Dragging a hand across his face with a tired groan (don't get him wrong, science was awesome, but the kid was just going on and on), he grabbed the kid on his next round through on the floor and sat him down before audibly telling the kid to kindly shut up. He really should have used better wording because by the way the kid immediately stopped talking and slumped down in his seat before uttering a lame excuse before leaving, Tony had hurt the kid's feelings. A simple thing that Tony thought would heal over by the next day took at least two weeks to get blown slightly over, with the kid refraining from talking too much around him. It hurt.

The ninth time Tony was freaking out, and then just assumed it was the spider bite's fault. He got a call from Peter, who's voice was shaking and it sounded like he was choking back sobs. The whispering didn't help either, neither did the pleading, 'please help me Tony' that came through the line and caused Tony to drop everything (literally) and fly as fast as his suit could handle to a random warehouse just inside city limits. Tony was expecting the worst when he walked into the dark place when he heard a choked sob and whimper that came from the rafters above him.

Flying up, he landed on one and made his way to the corner where Peter sat, not in Spider-man garb, his knees pressed against his chest and hands covering his ears as tightly as he could. Tony wasn't sure what was going on, but it appeared the kid might have had a panic attack, and maybe some sort of other attack. He gently prodded the kid on the shoulder, which was a terrible idea now that Tony thought about it more. The kid literally jumped into the air, hitting the ceiling of the warehouse with a loud bang before falling down to the cement floor below before Tony could even react.

As soon as he heard the thump of Peter hitting cement, he jumped down himself and ran to the kid, who lay breathing heavily, stunned, but otherwise uninjured it seemed. Tear tracks ran down his face and his hands immediately flew to his ears the closer Tony got. A heartbreaking whimper was emitted from his throat as Peter turned to look at Tony, his eyes looking much like a kicked puppies.

The two sat on the cement for at least an hour while Peter managed to get his breathing somewhat under control, with Tony's help. Tony asked the kid what happened, and if it was a panic attack. There was a soft reply that it was sensory overload, which induced a panic attack as well. Something was muttered about a Bad Brain day, but Tony was more focused on the whole Sensory Overload aspect.

Apparently, Peter's senses being enhanced meant that things that normal people thought were fine, or even slightly too much caused Peter's brain to freak out and send him into a state of sensory overload, which caused him to need to escape from everything. Usually, Tony learned, Peter could just wait it out, but then his anxiety kicked in and sent him into a panic attack, which made everything worse, and it was a terrible cycle from there, which landed him in a dark corner of the rafters of an abandoned warehouse away from the city hustle and bustle.

Tony had wondered why Peter never told him, but it seemed the kid didn't think it was important to point out his sensory overload. Then came the whole thing with the anxiety, to which Peter replied he'd been handling it for years, and that it was just a bad day, and that Tony should drop it. With that, Spidey thanked Tony before vanishing into the night, leaving the Iron Man to stare at the sky where Peter vanished in concern.

The tenth time was when Tony finally put everything together. Tony and Peter were relaxing in the living room of the compound one day, because Tony wanted to discuss a few suit upgrades with Peter and afterwards they decided to watch some Star Wars, specifically The Empire Strikes Back. So they were chilling in the living room when all of a sudden, footsteps were heard and when the two spun around, they were face to face with the other (missing and wanted) half of the Avengers, Bucky included, fresh out of cryo.

Tony had stood up and there was a bit of a shouting match, both sides forgetting about the teen sitting on the couch, slowly falling apart with the noise and memories of everything. The bad vibes radiating off of the group were causing Peter's rocking to increase in speed and amount and his hands were clasped over his ears, but he could still hear everything being said and it was too much. The volume, bad feelings, and overall hostility ended up being paired with with the panic he felt over not having his mask on when he saw the other Avengers because what if they recognized him.

Tony and Steve were arguing, the rest of Steve's group swarming around him in protection when a shout of 'hey' from Bucky caused everyone to shut up. The former Winter Soldier nodded towards the couch and Tony remembered that Peter was there with wide eyes. The group spun around and was greeted with the sight of Peter violently rocking, hands clamped over his ears, eyes screwed shut with tears slowly leaking through. He was letting out small squeaks and whimpers as he moved, probably not even realizing it.

The group's hostility dropped in an instant as their concern for the small teen panicking on the couch took hold of them. Tony moved towards Peter and sat near him, not expecting a reaction of any sort (he was wrong). The teen vaulted so high in the air he managed to cling to the ceiling before his body went limp and he fell, thankfully being caught by Wanda before hitting the ground.

Tony waited for two hours before Peter woke up with a soft groan. He was in the med bay because Tony wasn't sure what exactly was wrong with him at first until his mind clicked with the sensory overload aspect. Since then, he'd been waiting for the kid to wake up from his panic-induced slumber.

"Hey kid, welcome back," Tony said, a soft smile on his face as Peter blinked open his eyes before screwing them shut again with a visible wince of pain. Tony immediately ordered JARVIS to lower the brightness, allowing Peter to open his eyes to stare at Tony with wide eyes.

"What happened?"

"You started freaking out and then you completely vaulted to the ceiling before passing out."

"Oh."

"Oh? Kid, I've had panic attacks, sure, but that was beyond a panic attack."

"I know. Usually my panic attacks cause me to freeze, hyperventilate, and lose feeling in my limbs. I can't usually talk during them. That was another sensory overload attack." Tony hummed in response, prompting Peter to keep talking. "Sometimes things-things are too," Peter said, gesturing wildly with his arms, trying to convey something, "big, loud, too much for me to deal with. The suit helps me focus, and somethings just don't work." Tony nodded for Peter to continue.

"I'd get overstimulated before the bite, before Spider-man, just like I had anxiety before," Peter mumbled quietly. Tony let the gears in his head run before something hit him and his eyebrows furrowed in questioning.

"Are you, on the spectrum," Tony asked uncertainly, because he wasn't sure if that was an appropriate thing to ask. Peter froze for a moment and Tony was extremely concerned, but then Peter gave a slight nod, playing with his sweatshirt sleeve.

"People tend to just think I'm weird, or find Spider-man annoying. I don't mind it, it's no big deal, please don't make it a big deal Mr. Stark," Pete pleaded, staring Tony dead in the eyes. "People, when they find out, look down on me, they don't see me the same as them any more. To them, I'm unable to deal with society and fit it. I'm stupid, and dumb, and retarded," Peter said, tugging at his sleeve more violently before a hand went up to his head and he began to hit his head with the heel of his hand, eyes scrunched shut. Tony didn't want to touch him, afraid for a repeat of what happened at the warehouse that one time, so he sat, waiting for Peter to calm down.

"It's okay Peter, nothing will change. You're still a brilliant teenager who can do things no one else can," Tony said softly as Peter calmed down, going back to just picking at his sleeve. He gave the billionaire a soft smile.

"I know that I probably freaked you out at the warehouse," Peter said blatantly and Tony had to register when he just said. "I went a bit balistic when you touched me. Sorry about that, I was fine though, afterwards, surprisingly, just a bit stunned after hitting the ground so suddenly. I should have told you that I don't necessarily respond well to touch sometimes, especially during a panic attack or sensory overload. The spider bite enhanced everything, and my senses have been a bit haywire lately. My body feels like I just chugged five Monsters, ate two full bags of skittles, and chugged another two 12 oz cups of pure espresso. It was way worse when I first got bit too." Tony pursed his lips in concern and sympathy for the boy.

"Listen, kid, this whole thing will stay between us if you want it too. You should probably let the others know about the whole issue with touch and the panic attacks and sensory overload, but you don't have to say anything beyond that if you don't want to." Peter ground his teeth together, still playing with his sleeve.

"Could you tell them?" Tony's heart melted at the innocent and child-like tone that Peter asked him in. Pair that with the puppy dog eyes and Tony sighed and nodded before leaving the room with a promise to return shortly.

After that incident, Peter found that his new suits always had some sort of built in way for him to stim. Whenever he would visit the newly back together Avengers, they joked and teased with him, but kept their distance, making sure not to go too far with anything. Softer materials were used for his suits and he kept finding really nice sweatshirts and T-shirts in his bags whenever he left after visiting the Compound. Some of them smelled like the different members of the team, but they all smelled nice, and were much too large, and were amazing and wonderful. Small toys also found their way in, and there was a room created within the Compound that functioned as a sensory deprivation room for whenever Peter was having a hard time.

Tony made sure to watch out for Bad Brain days as he learned Peter called them, giving the kid extra support and keeping a closer eye on his activities and mood. The Avengers helped the kid with his homework, particularly anything that involved any sort of oral presentation, helping him write out notecards and scripts for him to read off of so he wouldn't be so nervous and panicked. The team all did little things to help out their youngest non-member, possible youngest future member some time down the road. But Tony did the most. He took it upon him to help the child whom he was seeing as his own. At first, his realization of thinking of Peter as his kid terrified him.

Now, he embraced it and nothing was going to hurt his kid.

Not if he had anything to do about it.


End file.
